Gravityisnotmyfriend

My Feedback: (2)

This is my first kit build, so I don't know if it's common, but I find myself constantly peeling my fingers off of freshly glued pieces. Cleaning up after a building session always includes cleaning CA off my fingers.

Jimmbbo

My $.02:

Aliphatic resin (AR) glue
a) is cheap
b) allows minor adjustment of parts before drying
c) cleans up with water...

CA
a) is expensive
b) requires exact alignment of parts before application
c) cleans up with varying amounts of pain and/or chemicals

That said, I use AR for most construction unless immediate bonding with CA is necessary.... Then I keep my fingers away from the joint!!

Cheers!

Jim

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

I built the top wing of a Sig Ultimate Fun-fly with CA a couple of years ago. I have not used CA on balsa before or since. On the other hand, I have sat peeling Ambroid from my fingers for hours on end but that was part of the fun of building back in the olden days.

TexasAirBoss

My Feedback: (22)

Something isn't right.

CA is great stuff, but it isn't for everything. It doesn't sand like balsa. So CA should be avoided in areas you intend to sand smooth later.

CA doesn't "dry" or evaporate like many glues. So it tends to be heavy.

Jimmbbo is right about white glue. That is good stuff.

Be carefull with CA. Respect it. You can buy extra glue tips for the bottles. They allow you to apply the CA very precisely. And the glue come out in a very metered and controlled way. It sounds as if you are pouring the stuff on the model.

I don't know how old you are, but your wife/girlfriend or both will not approve of you touching them with finger tips covered in CA. Nor will you.

apalsson

My Feedback: (1)

CA sands easily of your fingertips ... just use a fine grit paper (don't ask me how I know)

submikester

My Feedback: (6)

I have stock in debonder.

BobbyGee

My Feedback: (3)

What I find amazing is how fast CA can wick through balsa. It can go two inches from a joint real quickly!

BobbyG

rcdude37

sand paper works great for me also!

conradj87

My Feedback: (1)

i find myself pulling apart the joints i glue, because more got on my fingers than the joint, then i found out how well twisting works, after that i put it under water to dry it up, and keep on goin

Doug D.

All I have to do is get near an open bottle of CA and I get glued to something.
I don't use it for everything, but I can still remember using Ambriod wood glue. The smell is almost as bad as ca fumes. There are some who prefer it and still use it.

M_Callahan

I built my 1st plane with Sigment and 6 min. Epoxy. Now I use medium ca,
thin ca, 6 and 30 min Epoxy and probond wood glue. I need a bigger work
bench.

Sitting at the computer peeling ca off my fingers right now

Mike Callahan

dicknadine

welcome to the glue picking OFF club. No matter which product you use, half of it ends up on the fingers. Have learned to soak the fingers in good hot water the next morning and its its easy to pick off with your teeth. have tried all of the pre use stuff, lotions/creams and fingers still get glued. the other glues take me too long. Just remember CA is INSTANT-- so be super careful where you spill it. also would suggest that you start buying in Bulk, 8 oz and refilling the small bottles, you save a few $$. dick

rryman

My Feedback: (2)

The poll should be more definitive, like "How many times do you glue yourself to your plane:
A. In an hour (couple times)
B. In an evening (many times)
C. In the course of building the kit (who's counting!)
I still use Elmers Carpenters Glue around foam, like when gluing leading and trailing edges to foam cores, but basically, it's too slow for me. Like the previous thread said, buy those small tips for the CA. They really work, allow precise placement and I find they don't stop up as much.

Before the good CA came out that was specifically for balsa, I once built a Skylark 56 MkII entirely with hot melt glue. I found out that it was not smart to build with that stuff while wearing shorts! The airplane did hold together though.
Randy

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

If I'm framing up A plane I'm gluing myself to parts the whole time. I have learned to roll my fingers as soon as I know I touched myself with the stuff. If I even have A drop of it on the wax paper I'm sure to get it on my hands and pick up A part. When I was A lot younger I used to drive my mother crasy with the peel and spit system of getting the Ambroids off my fingers too so some things never change. I couldn't see myself using anything else though. Tonight I even glued my bandage to my finger with the stuff when I was repairing A cracked sheet of wood.

N925WB

My Feedback: (56)

"Peel and spit"! That's great!!! I soooo do that, too!!! ...shhhh... Don't tell my girlfriend!!!



The joy of gluing your fingers to an intricate framework is like licking a metal flag pole in winter. Ouch!

Keep building!!! Don't let the ARF's win!!!

-Wayne

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I don't get too much CA on myself. Use latex gloves, and a gas mask. You can buy latex examination gloves at any drugsotre for about $3 a box. Gas masks with carbon filters can be had at any surplus store for about $25. They last for years before you even start to get a hint of the smell. New canisters are about $5-$10

I don't think CA is that heavy. I use it on every part of an airframe. Only place I use epoxy is on the firewall, landing gear, wing joint, and tail joints when glueing to the fuse.

The wings, and fuse all get thin CA.

I use my wing and fuse jigs when ever I can. I spend hours setting it all up and getting the pieces aligned. But, once I start glueing, it's done in about 1/2 hour. It takes about the same amount of time to set it up in the jig as it does to build it on a table- one piece at a time. I just like being about to use rubberbands to hold it all together first and get it all aligned.

Once I take to cap off the CA bottle-- it's fast and furious for about 15 minutes ---1/2 hour and then I'm DONE with the CA. I toss on a gas mask with carbon canisters and go to town with it. You can get your face right up in there and see right exactly where your putting the CA. I use a very fine tip applicator and just put the tiniest dot on every joint. It's fast and efficient. You only put glue where you need it and you NEVER slop a bunch on in a spot where you can't see-- because your afraid to get your face in there and see where the drops are falling.

When your done-- vacate the shop and then pull your gloves off and toss them in the trashcan. Pull your gas mask off and recap the inlet holes on the canisters. Put the gas mask in a ziploc bag and toss it on the shelf.

rfdias

gravityisnotmyfriend,
often enough so as not to really use CA any more unless I really have to. Though in virginia, our my shop is cold enough in the winter so as to force me inside. I stick to "regular" wood glues like elmers wood or titebond these days. It might be a bit slower, but easier to ger proper alignments, easier to sand, no toxic odor, and in the end, I'll still have my fingerprints intact.
cheers, Bob

scottfl78

haha I was building a little scratch park flyer out of sticks lastnight and glued myself minorly many times.. You know if it gets on your nerves, or you are working with epoxy you could go get some surgical latex gloves.. Then you could call yourself Dr. Balsa M.D. The nice thing about human skin is when you peel your finger off you lose a little skin